After 24 years, the Department for Transport (DfT) has today (21st Sept) announced that rail franchising is to end, forming the early steps towards bringing Britain’s fragmented network back together.
Over the coming months, the new system will be created to form a simpler and more effective structure. The first stage, today, is moving operators onto provisional contractors to prepare the ground for the new railway.
From this morning, franchising is swapped with more challenging Emergency Recovery Management Agreements (ERMAs). These address the ongoing impact of the pandemic on the railway and delivers on a Government commitment to replace the current franchising system.
These agreements have tougher performance targets and lower management fees. The new contracts allow DfT to make an early start on key reforms, including requiring operators to co-ordinate better with each other and driving down the railways’ excessive capital costs.
Management fees will be a maximum of 1.5% of the cost base of the franchise before the pandemic began. The ERMAs are a transitional stage to the new system, the biggest change to the railways in a quarter of a century.
Under current public health guidance, the intention is also for operators to run almost a full service, to guarantee space to help passengers travel safely.
ERMAs allow for the wider rail industry to reform with passengers as the priority. In 2018 Keith Williams, the chairman of Royal Mail, was asked to review the railways after a chaotic timetable change and the failure of some franchises.
Today's announcement, which has his full support, is the prelude to a White Paper which will respond to his recommendations. The White Paper is set to be available when the course of the pandemic becomes clearer.
The Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, said: “The model of privatisation adopted 25 years ago has seen significant rises in passenger numbers, but this pandemic has proven that it is no longer working.
“Our new deal for rail demands more for passengers. It will simplify people's journeys, ending the uncertainty and confusion about whether you are using the right ticket or the right train company.
“It will keep the best elements of the private sector, including competition and investment, that have helped to drive growth - but deliver strategic direction, leadership and accountability.
“Passengers will have reliable, safe services on a network totally built around them. It is time to get Britain back on track.”
Keith Williams, Chair of the Williams Review, said: “These new agreements represent the end of the complicated franchising system, demand more from the expertise and skills of the private sector, and ensure passengers return to a more punctual and co-ordinated railway.
“I am ensuring the recommendations I propose are fit for a post-Covid world, but these contracts kickstart a process of reform that will ensure our railways are entirely focused on the passenger, with a simpler, more effective system that works in their best interest.”
Paul Plummer, Chief Executive of the Rail Delivery Group, said: “We welcome the ongoing support to keep trains running for passengers and the government’s confirmation of an end to the franchise system, which we have long been calling for.
“These transitional contracts should be a stepping-stone to a better railway. This needs to harness the experience, innovation and investment private sector operators bring, with local train companies taking the decisions that affect their passengers. It should be overseen by a new guiding mind for the whole industry and underpinned by a simpler to use fares system.
“A renewed and reinvigorated partnership between the public and private sectors will be the best way to improve services and help regrow the market for train travel which is good for economic recovery and the public finances. Combined with the measures the industry is taking to keep trains clean, this announcement means people can continue to travel with confidence.”
